Legendary rock star Jim Morrison of the Doors died tragically young in Paris at the age of 27 on July 27, 1971. Interestingly enough two other rock star legends of that era, Jancie Joplin and Jimmy Hendrix also died at the age of 27, and all of them within two years...

Today we mark the Fourth Sunday of Advent.  The Advent wreath is fully lit; the poinsettias have arrived (though they are hidden until Christmas Eve).  Most of our Christmas shopping is done, and the anticipation of children, especially, for Christmas is high.  I...

People tell me how busy they think I am. I don’t think I’m that busy. Sure, I keep busy during the day but at the end of the day all I have to do is to feed Arlo and answer a few emails. So compared to some of you I’m really not that busy. Take for instance parents,...

In a small village there lived a holy man known for his wisdom and peace. One day a young woman in the village was found to be pregnant and the villagers quickly blamed the holy man, claiming that he was the father. They were irate and rushed to confront the holy man...

The other day I was taking with a Lutheran pastor who is now a hospital Chaplain. He told me, “One thing I've learned as a hospital chaplain is how to be with people in a way that they really feel listened to. And if I’d done that when I was in the parish, I would...

Today is the feast of Christ the Kiing. In John 18 we hear Pilate’s conversation with Jesus. “They say you are a king. Is that true? Jesus responds, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom were of this world my followers would be fighting to save me.”...

My nephew is a sophomore in high school. He plays football. He admits he’s not the most athletic guy on the team. But he’s okay with that. He just likes being on the team and working hard at it. This season he took quite a beating on the scout team playing against the...

The widow of Zaraphath and her son were starving.  There was a famine in the land, announced by Elijah because of the idolatry of wicked King Ahab.  For six months it hadn’t rained a drop.  Elijah also was hungry and thirsty when he arrived at her town and saw her...

All four of the Gospels report that Jesus restored sight to the blind.  It appears that Jesus did so on multiple occasions.  Only Mark’s Gospel gives the name of one of these blind men:  Bartimaeus, a name which means “honorable son.”  Mark goes out of his way to...

Two of the disciples come to Jesus. They’ve got a request. “Jesus, when you make it big and we know you will we’d really appreciate if you could name us as vice presidents of your organization?” For whatever reason they thought they were entitled to that. And when the...